Freedom In The Stars
by Earth Star
Summary: Jack, Sandy, and Bunny do some stargazing and Jack learns what it was like to live in space.


"Alright, Mates," Bunny declared as he held up his thermos and basket of cookies. "Hot chocolate and shortbread cookies as promised."

Jack grinned as he and Sandy held out their mugs for Bunny to pour. "Awesome, although are you sure you don't want to stargaze from one of Sandy's clouds?"

Sandy gave a cheeky nod as he created a sand arrow and pointed upward.

"Nope, and that was the deal," Bunny stated as he sat down next to me. "If ya want me ta bring treats, we stargaze on the solid ground."

Jack rolled his eyes as he snagged a cookie. "Fine, but if I get grass stains, it's your fault."

Bunny scoffed. "Says the boy who I've seen sleep with crumbs in his bed."

Sandy shushed them and pointed up as a shooting star streaked across the sky, and it was soon followed by another.

"Meteor shower is startin'," Bunny said as he leaned back and sighed contently. "And not a cloud in the sky ta block us from seein' it."

Jack wrapped his fingers around his mugs as he watched several more meteors soar through the stars. "Too bad North and Tooth couldn't join us," he said.

Jack had been hoping all five guardians could watch the meteor shower together, but Christmas was only a month away and Tooth had a sudden surge of children losing their first tooth. It just wasn't a good night for either of them to take a break.

Bunny shrugged. "Can't be helped, but they've seen meteor showers before and it won't be their last either."

Sandy nodded and then gave a nostalgic smile as he created a sand image of a rocket ship.

Bunny laughed. "Yeah, yer right. Nothing beats seein' a meteor shower up close in space."

Jack blinked. "Up in space?"

"Before Sandy and I came ta Earth," Bunny explained. "It was common for people of the Golden Age to go out into their ships to watch the meteors to by. They were even made into festivals by some planets."

"Oh," Jack said as he swallowed a mouthful of hot chocolate.

It shouldn't be, but it was always easy for Jack to forget that Bunny and Sandy were technically aliens and not originally from Earth. However, since they swore the Guardian Oath both were bound here to protect it from Pitch and what other threats that dared attacked the children.

I know they would do it again in a heartbeat, Jack thought. Still, do Sandy and Bunny ever regret not being able to fly to different planets?

His gaze fell upon the moon. Jack had always wondered what it was like up there in space. It was suppose to be cold, right? Was the view of Earth from the Moon as beautiful as the photos Jamie had shown him? Would he ever get to go up there?

"Do you guys miss it?" Jack asked as he felt the steam of his hot drink on his cheeks. "I mean, being up in space?"

Bunny stroked his chin and exchange a thoughtful grin with Sandy.

The Sandman created the sand image of a bird flying, but then had it land in a nest where other birds were waiting for it.

"Might miss the freedom," Bunny translated, "but having a home ya can always come back ta, that's the important part." He patted Jack's shoulder. "Especially when ya got family waitin' for ya. Get what I mean?"

Jack chewed his bottom lip. He thought about all the joy he'd received from being able to fly with the wind to where ever he pleased. However, there was always an ache at the end of the day when he had no home to return to.

Truth be told, with him having a home in each of the Guardians' homes now, the ache hadn't been there for a long time now.

"Yeah," Jack said softly. "I get what you mean."

Bunny and Sandy both smiled at the boy before returning their gazes back to the stars.

"Mind pouring me more hot chocolate?" Jack asked as he held out his mug and Sandy shook his empty mug too.

"Alright," Bunny said as he picked up his thermos and refilled the mugs. "But don't tell Tooth, I don't want an earache of her tellin' me I'm ruinin' yer perfect teeth."

Jack laughed as he sipped at the hot chocolate. This really was the best way to go stargazing.


End file.
